226 JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ September 2, 1880. 
early brood is hatching with fewer working bees than would other¬ 
wise be required. Thus many more workers can go abroad in 
search of honey and pollen than in hives which have not any 
drones. Afterwards, when the drones increase in number, they 
come out and fly abroad, which indicates that they are becoming 
stronger and are coming nearer the swarming point. As regards 
attempting to destroy drones it is a great folly to do so, as the 
bees know best how to dispose of them when no longer needed. 
When the principal part of the season for breeding has gone by, 
and the time has arrived for the storing of honey, the banishment 
of drones begins. Some seasons when drones become very nume¬ 
rous their destruction commences at an earlier period. When 
drones are seen late in the autumn it shows that there is some 
deficiency in the store of honey or that the queen is not fertile, or 
some other cause.” 
This quotation, containing as it does so many mistakes and inac¬ 
curacies, is enough, and long enough, for the intelligent readers of 
this Journal. The idea of drones being bred early to keep up the 
heat of hives when they have few bees is certainly new, but this 
novel and extraordinary idea is contrary to fact and reason. Drone 
combs are generally built on the outside edges of combs, and hence 
drones are not bred till the hives are nearly full of bees. Bees 
know better than Mr. Addey what is good for them, and avoid 
rearing drones in the early spring months when they are not 
wauted. Working bees are as good as drones for producing heat, 
and are otherwise more useful than drones. Again, in the banish¬ 
ment and destruction of drones the bees are guided by laws and 
conditions different from those of the pamphlet now quoted. In 
ordinary cases drones appear about the time of swarrainsr, and are 
reared for the fertilisation of young queens. When this is accom¬ 
plished they are of no use whatever in hives, and are considered 
by the bees worthless nuisances, and therefore they are destroyed. 
After swarming, when hives become full, drones are hatched, as at 
the swarming season. In good seasons they are permitted to live 
till the end of the season, when the general drone massacre takes 
place. In seasons of scarcity and famine the bees, instinct with 
self-preservation, destroy both old and young drones hatched and 
unhatched. The useful and industrial part of the community is 
so far protected and preserved by the destruction of the lazy and 
useless drones. 
The bees in this locality have this season been constantly on 
the borderland of starvation, and drone brood and drones adult 
have been at a great discount throughout. They have had a 
sorrowful time of it.— A. Pettigrew. 
COMB FOUNDATION. 
I SHOULD not again trouble you on the subject of comb foun¬ 
dation but for Mr. Cheshire’s keen remarks on page 201. I 
offered in my last an alternative as an excuse for the attempts 
made by Messrs. Cheshire and Raitt to strengthen foundation, it 
having been implied in “B. & W.’s ” communication that such 
efforts showed that they had failed to succeed, while I affirm I have 
succeeded. I expressed my doubt that they had failed, but that 
a natural desire to meet the craving for novelty, or the desire 
to make the use of foundation really and in spite of careless hand¬ 
ling effective (which would be a most meritorious result), had 
exercised their ingenuity. Mr. Cheshire has chosen to take the 
former branch of this alternative to himself, to which my obser¬ 
vations by no means bound him, but he knows best why he iden¬ 
tified himself with it. 
In the second paragraph of his letter he says the first letter 
of mine puzzled him a little, but his second has brought a solu¬ 
tion. May I ask what puzzled him ? He says later on. “ Mr. 
Procter rightly supposes that experimentally I know nothing of 
breakdown.” Is it that anyone except Mr. Cheshire has had 
the same experience ? Is this the puzzle ? Has Mr. Cheshire a 
monopoly of success, and has he been raised up only to supply 
the deficient intelligence of the vulgar multitude on apiarian 
matters ? 
Now with regard to his remarks on my veil and the solution 
it offered to my former letter, I beg to inform Mr. Cheshire that 
for nearly forty years I have been a progressive bee-keeper. I 
never smothered a swarm. I have passed through all the stages 
of advance—through collaterals, nadirs, Pettigrew’s, &c., until 1 
reached the climax : not, I confess it (yet unattained), of Mr. 
Cheshire’s ultimatum, but of what I have found both successful 
and profitable. Now being something more than a sexagenarian 
it might be deemed excusable that with veil and without spec¬ 
tacles I should mistake a new outside comb (not a month before 
a plain foundation, when filled throughout and sealed as white 
as any pure honeycomb) for the latter until a second glance 
showed me the difference ; and I beg to inform Mr. Cheshire 
that my former “puzzling ” letter had reference to facts not seen 
through my veil, and that I maintain, as he himself admits, that 
plain foundation properly handled is as safe to use as any 
ingenious appliance can make it.—G eorge A. Procter, Clk. 
OUR LETTER BOX. 
Red Game Bantams (C. D. A .).—The cock should be snake-headed ; his 
wings carried up, and close to his body; tail moderate, and rather drooping 
than otherwise. The hen should be small-headed, straight-combed, with wings 
carried close. She should be very dark brown, almost black, with golden hackle. 
Both should be hard-feathered. 
Gapes in Chickens (0.).—Your chickens are dying of the gapes, and have 
the roup as well. Give to each chicken a pill of camphor the size of a pea, and 
put some lumps of it in every vessel from which they drink. 
Fixing Foundation (J. B., Sandal ).—Your plan of fixing foundation 
fixes too much. If the ends are not left free the stretching which working out 
the sheet by the bees involves would cause it to -assume a waved line. To pre¬ 
vent this, foundation sheets are cut about half an inch shorter than the inside of 
the frame. If you remove your worse than useless side supports your plan 
becomes an awkward form of Mr. Hooker’s (for which see last issue), having 
also the disadvantage of occupying some space by wood instead of comb. There 
is plenty of room for ingenuity in these matters, but those who have no 
“ practical ” acquaintance with them are hardly likely to suggest better forms 
than those who have. Mr. Woodbury in his day was ahead of you, since he made 
the top bar to divide, by which he secured the advantages you claim, but escaped 
the defects we have pointed out. 
METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
CAMDEN SQUARE, LONDON. 
Lat. 51°32'40" N.; Long. 0° 8'0" W.; Altitude,111 feet. 
date. 
9 A.M. 
IN THE DAY. 
1880. 
i O 
H 50 <0 C3 
e -m CO > 
Hygrome¬ 
ter. 
. 
O T3 
3 rt 
r- 
Q o 
. C34J 
p. —i o 
rj O 
O r D ^ 
PH 
Shade Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature. 
August. 
Dry. 
Wet. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
sun. 
On 
grass. 
Sun. 22 
Sion. 23 
Tues. 24 
Wed. 25 
Tliurs. 2S 
Friday 27 
Satur. 28 
Inches. 
30.053 
30.044 
30.041 
30. 04 
20.887 
30.103 
30.213 
deg. 
64.6 
60.0 
63.9 
62.2 
66.2 
60.8 
63.3 
deg. 
59.2 
57.5 
59.4 
60.2 
63.4 
59.2 
61.7 
N. 
N. 
N.E. 
N.N.E. 
N.N.W. 
N.X.NV. 
N.E. 
deg. 
64.0 
63.2 
62.5 
626 
62.2 
63.0 
63.0 
deg. 
75.0 
70.5 
73.6 
69.7 
73.4 
73.3 
82.6 
deg. 
58.0 
52.3 
51.7 
55.1 
59.3 
59.3 
60.2 
deg. 
124)0 
98.0 
114.4 
81.5 
98.9 
95.3 
124.6 
deg. 
55.8 
48.7 
49.2 
52.6 
58.8 
58.0 
60.6 
Means. 
30.049 
63.0 
60.1 
62.9 
74.0 
56.6 
105.2 
54.8 
REMARKS. 
22nd.—Dull cloudy morning, fine bright afternoon and evening, beautiful moon¬ 
light night: 
23rd.— Dull cloudy morning, fine afternoon and evening. 
24th.—Rather cloudy and dull on the whole, though there was some sunshine 
in the afternoon. 
25 th.—Dull, cold, and damp all day. 
26th.—Dull morning, cloudy afternoon and evening. 
27th.—Cloudy all day. 
28th—Cloudy till 10.45 A.M., afterwards fine, bright, and very hot. 
A dull cloudy week with remarkably little sunshine, excepting Saturday, which 
was a bright hot day, the maximum themperature (*2.6°) being the highest 
registered during the year, with the exception of May 26th, when a temperature 
of 85.0° was reached. The drought which commenced on the 9th still continues. 
—G. J. Symons. 
COVENT GARDEN MARKET.—SEPTEMBER 1. 
GRAPES continue to arrive in large quantities from the Channel Islands, the 
supply of home-grown fruit being yet limited. Plums are very plentiful, 
realising moderate prices. 
FRUIT. 
s. 
d. 
s. d. 
8. 
d. 
s. 
d. 
Apples. 
5 sieve 
2 
6 to 4 6 
Melons . 
each 
2 
0 to 4 
0 
Apricots. 
box 
i 
0 
2 6 
Nectarines. 
dozen 
2 
0 
8 
0 
Cherries.. 
%» lb. 
0 
0 
0 0 
Oranges . 
100 
4 
0 
12 
0 
Chestnuts. 
bushel 
.2 
0 
16 0 
Peaches . 
dozen 
8 
0 
10 
0 
Figs. 
dozen 
2 
0 
4 0 
Pears, kitchen .. 
dozen 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Filberts. 
%>lb. 
0 
8 
1 0 
dessert . 
dozen 
2 
0 
3 
0 
Cobs. 
$> lb 
0 
0 
1 0 
Pine Apples .... 
v lb 
1 
0 
3 
0 
Gooseberries .... 
4 sieve 
2 
6 
4 0 
Plums . 
i sieve 
1 
6 
3 
0 
Grapes . 
$> lb 
0 
9 
3 0 
Walnuts . 
bushel 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Lemons. 
$>100 
6 
0 
10 0 
ditto . 
$> 100 
0 
0 
0 
0 
VEGETABLES. 
8. 
d. 
s. d. 
S. 
d. 
8. 
d. 
dozen 
2 
0 to 4 0 
Mushrooms . 
dozen 
-* 
Ot.o 1 
6 
Asparagus. 
bundle 
0 
0 
0 0 
Mustard & Cress .. 
punnet 
0 
2 
0 
3 
Beans.Kidney.... 
4f> lb. 
0 
0 
0 6 
Onions. 
bushel 
3 
6 
5 
0 
Beet. Red. 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 0 
pickling. 
quart 
0 
0 
0 
9 
Broccoli . 
bundle 
0 
9 
1 6 
Parsley. doz. bunches 
6 
0 
0 
0 
Brussels Sprouts.. 
J sieve 
0 
0 
0 0 
Parsnips. 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 
0 
Cabbage. 
dozen 
0 
6 
1 0 
Peas . 
quart 
0 
9 
1 
0 
Carrots. 
bunch 
0 
4 
0 6 
Potatoes. 
bushel 
3 
9 
4 
0 
Capsicums. 
100 
1 
6 
2 0 
Kidney. 
bushel 
4 
0 
0 
0 
Cauliflowers. 
dozen 
0 
0 
3 6 
Radishes.... doz. bunches 
1 
6 
2 
6 
Celery . 
bundle 
1 
6 
2 0 
Rhubarb. 
bundle 0 
4 
0 
0 
Coleworts_doz. bunches 
2 
0 
4 0 
Salsafy. 
bundle 
1 
0 
0 
0 
Cucumbers. 
each 
0 
4 
0 6 
Scorzo’nera ' . 
bundle 
1 
6 
0 
0 
Endive. 
dozen 
1 
0 
2 0 
Seakale . 
basket 
0 
0 
0 
0 
Fennel... 
bunch 
0 
3 
0 0 
Shallots . 
tb 
0 
8 
0 
0 
Garlic . 
%> lb. 
0 
6 
0 0 
Spinach . 
bushel 
8 
0 
0 
0 
Herbs . 
bunch 
0 
2 
0 0 
Turnips. 
bunch 
0 
4 
0 
0 
Leeks....: . 
bunch 
0 
0 4 
Vegetable Marrows 
each 
0 
2 
0 
0 
